NEW YORK — Most U.S. stocks rose Thursday, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index briefly topping 1,500, as an unexpected drop in jobless claims and better-than-forecast earnings offset the worst slump for Apple in four years.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, slid 12 percent after reporting the slowest profit growth since 2003 and weakest sales increase in 14 quarters. Netflix surged 42 percent as the largest online-video service beat its forecast for fourth-quarter subscriber growth and posted an unexpected profit.

More than four stocks rose for every three that fell on U.S. exchanges. The S&P 500 was unchanged at 1,494.82, after rallying as much as 0.5 percent earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 13,825.33. The Nasdaq 100 index slid 1.4 percent to 2,723.53. More than 6.8 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 10 percent above the three-month average.

Equities rose earlier Thursday as a report showed claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped last week. Applications for unemployment payments decreased to 330,000 in the week ended Jan. 19, compared with the median forecast of 355,000 claims. A separate release showed the index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months, climbed 0.5 percent last month.

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In China, manufacturing expanded at the fastest rate in two years, according to a survey of companies.

“People are just trying to digest all the earnings reports from all the various companies,” Giri Cherukuri, portfolio manager who helps manage $3 billion at Oakbrook Investments in Lisle, Ill., said in a telephone interview. “As long as the economy seems to get better, the stock market will do well.”

Apple fell 12 percent to $450.50. The results reinforce concern that the company’s growth is being hurt by higher production costs and step up pressure on CEO Tim Cook to demonstrate that Apple has more blockbuster products in the pipeline to reignite sales. The shares have fallen 36 percent since they set a record in September, and have lost 15 percent this year for the worst performance in the S&P 500.

For the fiscal second quarter, which is now under way, Apple forecast sales of $41 billion to $43 billion, compared with predictions by analysts for revenue of $45.5 billion.

The company’s share price decline means the company may lose its status as the world’s most valuable company to Exxon Mobil. Apple’s market value was $423 billion as of today’s close, compared with Exxon’s $416.5 billion.

Technology stocks lost 2 percent as a group during regular trading, for the biggest decline among 10 industries in the S&P 500.

Altera erased 4.6 percent to $33.56. Fourth-quarter earnings at the maker of programmable chips used in phone systems were 37 cents a share, missing the average analyst estimate by 2 cents.

Netflix soared 42 percent, its biggest gain ever, to $146.86. The company signed 2.05 million new U.S. Internet subscribers in the fourth quarter, bringing total domestic online customers to 27.2 million, it said Wednesday on its website. The gain led to a quarterly profit of 13 cents a share, compared with analysts’ predictions of a loss.

Amazon.com, the Seattle, Wash.-based online retailer, jumped 2.1 percent to $273.62. The company announced today that it was acquiring IVONA Software, a text-to-speech technology company. EBay, operator of the world’s largest online marketplace, advanced 3.4 percent to $55.19, its highest level since 2005.

Consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.7 percent as Netflix led gains. Bed Bath & Beyond increased 4.4 percent to $58.99. The operator of more than 1,400 home-furnishing stores was raised to outperform from market perform by Oppenheimer & Co.’s Brian Nagel, who said shares have likely reached a bottom and that the stock will rebound significantly in the next few quarters.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average extended gains into an eighth day, advancing 1.7 percent to a record. United Continental Holdings rose 2.2 percent to $25.54, while Southwest Airlines added 0.8 percent to $11.45, as the airlines beat analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter results amid steadying costs for fuel, their biggest expense.

Xerox jumped 2.2 percent to $7.75. The provider of document and business services reported earnings that beat analyst expectations as the company shifts away from its traditional printing business. Earnings excluding some items were 30 cents a share, above the average analyst estimate of 29 cents.